ZTR 355 29er rim, Kenda Small Block 8 tire, leaking at bead?

Trying tubeless for the first time. ZTR 355 29er rim is probably two years old, run with tubes, no dents or problems with the sidewall. Tire is a Kenda Small Block 8 non-tubeless tire and is only a few months old. Put yellow tape on the rim, installed the valve stem, wet down the bead with soapy water, and pressurized with an air compressor. It kind of holds air, but you can see it leaking out at various places around the bead, and goes flat in a few minutes. I am following the video on the website where they recommend getting it to seal with only soap/water before putting sealant in the tire.

Ran the tire up to 40 psi with the compressor, and you can hear some "pops" as the bead seats, but it is obviously not seating everywhere. Are there any tricks to get the tire to seat? Are there issues with this tire/rim combo?

I'll call Stans on Monday, but of course I started this project on a Friday night, and would love to get it figured out. The rims have been great run with tubes, and maybe I shouldn't tempt fate trying to get them set up tubeless...

You do not need sealant to get it to seal. Even NT's recommends getting it sealed w/o goo. When you get it sealed, hit it with lots of soap, lots of soap, then more soap. You don't want to deal with sealant in the tire if you can't seal it. Keep at it!

Kenda Small Block 8's have perferated sidewalls on one side of the tire (about 12 holes). They will leak like a sieve for a week and then they will seal up nicely. When you fill your tire up, do it off the bike and rotate the wheel sideways to get the sidewalls wet on the inside.

You do not need sealant to get it to seal. Even NT's recommends getting it sealed w/o goo. When you get it sealed, hit it with lots of soap, lots of soap, then more soap. You don't want to deal with sealant in the tire if you can't seal it. Keep at it!

That is simply incorrect. Most non-UST tires will not seal with out sealant. They will hold pressure for a few minutes at most, but the sealant is needed to stop the micro leaks around the bead.